STTR Phase I: Novel Lipid Deposition for Biosensor Surfaces

Luna Innovations, Incorporated, Blacksburg VA

Investigators

Abstract

This Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I project will develop sensing instrumentation containing bioengineered surfaces that are compatible with relevant, disease-associated proteins. Of particular interest in the fields of pharmaceutical design and cell biology is the seven-transmembrane segment, G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs). GPCRs represent a class of bioactive proteins that encompass 1-2 percent of all encoded protein within the human genome and have been the focus of extensive study in signal recognition and propagation within the human body. These receptors, it is estimated, comprise up to 70 percent of potential drug candidates. However, a valid measurement of protein-protein interactions has been elusive due to the technical reliance upon cell extracts or live cellular systems, both of which can convolute data. Luna Innovations along with their partners at the University of Pennsylvania propose a novel, cell-free system to measure the biophysical association between hydrophobic GPCRs and their ligands. The proposed optical fiber-based system, based on a lipid bilayer deposition, is essential not only to understand the important components of biological systems but also to vastly improve the accuracy of contemporary biochip measurements. The commercial applications of this project are in the area of biosensor instrumentation. An instrument capable of detecting and characterizing protein interactions is expected to have a good market in the pharmaceutical industry.